


Robotommy

by 1000101



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Canon, Tommy is a robot!, the boomers show up for chapter 4 and after, there will be other robots later :3c
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28584966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1000101/pseuds/1000101
Summary: When the cybernetics department gets their funding cut and has to move, Darnold and the mixology department get their lab room and a few surprises they left behind :)
Relationships: Tommy Coolatta & Darnold, Tommy Coolatta/Darnold
Comments: 22
Kudos: 47





	1. 49276d20546f6d6d792e203a29

**Author's Note:**

> listen. i know i have another fic that i just Stopped Updating but i legally have to write something about robots, okay? feel free to break into my home and force me to actually continue writing this one bc it at least has some kind of plot that i wanna get through hopefully 😩

Today was the day! The mixology department was finally getting its own laboratory room - something about the cybernetics department being relocated after an expensive failed experiment. Darnold would look into the details later, because right now? Right now he was carrying a barrel of Suspicious Substances to the new room, a few other scientists following behind him rolling carts of bottles and beakers.

Ooh, he couldn't wait. His department… getting a room all to themselves… They would be able to work on more potions at once, they wouldn't get fearful screams in response to testing side effects, they could get away with a few messier experiments,

That is, if Darnold could stop daydreaming and missing turns on his way to the new room. He backtracked for the third time. He'd just have to have his fantasies _after_ the move.

They found the lab. Eventually. And it only took a few more trips back and forth to get everything moved. By the end of the day, tables and shelves were already set up and lined with beakers and tubes. There were still a few boxes left to be unpacked, but they could finish that tomorrow and have plenty of time leftover to start playing- working in their new room. 

Darnold told the other scientists to go ahead home; he'd just stay to put the boxes in the storage closet so that no one would trip over them tomorrow morning. This was, of course, not the actual reason he wanted to stay. This was his new lab! His mixology lab. Not his mixology corner, not his mixology Section Of The Room; this was his mixology Entire Room. He just _had_ to stay a little longer to take it all in.

He picked up a box in one arm and pulled open the door to the storage closet. 

And then he dropped the box into the closet and slammed the door shut. 

And then he slapped a hand to his face. Now he would need to open the door again to check if he broke or spilled anything in that box. Couldn't go around tipping over floor-melting acid his first day here! Even if he _did_ see something that looked eerily similar to a dead body in the storage closet.

Oh god he saw something that looked eerily similar to a dead body in the storage closet. What did the cybernetics department _do_ in here before they left?! Maybe it was just a trick of the light! Maybe he was just a little nervous! Yeah, that made sense. There's no way someone at Black Mesa would just toss a corpse into a closet. Right? 

…

He took a deep breath and yanked the door open again. Oh no. That was a body. That was a body lying against a crate in the closet. Ohoho no. Darnold leaned down to pick up his box, looking over the body. Tall, thin, wearing a typical science uniform except for the… propeller cap on their head, no blood or visible injury - so they weren't violently killed at least. Poison maybe? Or were they still alive?! No, they couldn't be, no sign of breathing.

Wait. Was that a switch on their neck? 

_Oh_ . Darnold breathed out a sigh of relief and sank down to the floor, sitting right outside the closet. It was the cybernetics department, of _course_ ! This was some kind of robot! A very convincingly human-looking robot, but a robot nonetheless. Darnold was _not_ going to be part of a murder mystery today.

He finally checked the box for anything damaged and placed it in the closet - the corner farthest from the android - when nothing was found amiss. The rest of the boxes followed suit, stacked neatly against the wall. All done! Darnold could go home now.

He could go home and not think about the whole entire robot person hidden away in the storage closet.

He _could_.

Or…

Ah, fuck it. He flipped the switch on the robot's neck and stepped back as a faint whirring started up. Was this a bad idea? What if the cybernetics department found him messing around with their stuff? What if-

The robot's eyes snapped open and immediately fell on Darnold, who held his breath. Its eyes seemed to have a yellow glow to them.

"Hi."

"Uh, whuh- um, hi- hello!" Smooth, Darnold, smooth.

"I'm Tommy. :)"

"Did you just say 'colon, right parenthesis' out loud?"

The robot- Tommy didn't respond, deciding instead to lean to one side and look past Darnold into the main room of the lab. It closed its eyes and the propeller on its hat started to spin.

Darnold just watched in silence until Tommy sat up straight and looked at him again, cap still spinning.

"What is happening? Are you okay?"

"..."

"Tommy?"

Tommy's cap came to a stop, and it smiled at him. "Dr. Darnold Pepper, head of the mixology department."

A shiver ran up his spine. "Uh, how did you know that?"

"I have access to multi- um, multiple Black Mesa databases."

Ohh, that made sense. Of course the cybernetics team would want Tommy to recognize other workers if they built it to help out or run errands. But obviously the robot was still functioning, and to be able to hold a conversation like this meant a lot of work must have gone into its artificial intelligence. Why was it left here in the storage closet? The main room had been cleared out a week ago; if the scientists were coming back for it, they would have already.

Darnold brought a hand up to his chin, thinking. "Tommy, do you know why you're here?"

"This was- used to be the cybernetics laboratory. But when I checked the room ownership, it said this was the mixology laboratory."

"Yeah, they were moved somewhere else, and my team got this lab. But- is that what you were doing? When your hat was spinning?"

Tommy nodded. "The propellers spin when I'm requesting or downloading information." It reached up and spun the cap with its hand, a little slower than before. "But it spins naturally, too."

"It's a very nice hat," Darnold said with a chuckle. "But, do you know why the cybernetics department didn't take you with them?"

The spinning picked up again as Tommy thought. "They left a recording for you. Here." Tommy closed its eyes and a different voice started coming from its speakers. 

"Hello! If you're hearing this, you must've found Tommy and turned him on. We had to leave him and the cyber-mutt project behind. We were technically supposed to get rid of them, but… Well, I'd like to see _you_ build a whole person and a dog and then willingly tear them apart! And our new lab is too small to hide them anywhere.

"So, I hope you don't mind looking after Tommy! The cyber-mutt is kind of in pieces. All the parts are in the crate we left Tommy next to. Try again if you want, but aiming to build the perfect dog might have been a little too eager of us." The voice laughed a little. 

"Tommy works fairly well. He's very nice, tall enough to reach the top shelf easily. There are a few kinks that never got worked out: he's," the voice sighed, "soda-powered. The more soda you give him, the faster he can run code. Don't give him too much, wouldn't wanna overload him, but a few sodas a day are enough for him to process at a human-level speed. Be prepared to go through the soda machine pretty quickly if you want him to help out.

"We also never… we never actually programmed in… you know… the laws of robotics?" There was a nervous laugh. "I mean, I don't think Tommy is gonna just go ham and start killing people, but just thought you should know."

The voice lowered into a mumble. "Was there anything else I was supposed to add…? Hmm." It was quiet for a moment before the voice picked up again. "Oh! If anyone comes by looking for us, please redirect them to our new room. There were a few people who would come by occasionally even though they don't work in our department, so they might not know we moved rooms. 

"And be nice to Tommy! Don't let any higher ups find out he's there. Stop by if you need help, but be sneaky about it. Uhh, that should be it! Have fun!" The recording ended and Tommy opened his eyes again.

So Darnold had a secret robot friend now?

…

He could work with this.


	2. 537572707269736521

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> time for the rest of the mixology department to meet Tommy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if the inclusion of other mixology scientists would be annoying to ppl so i am kinda writing them as a Collective Group instead of individual named ppl, but i just think darnold should have nice coworkers who think he is cool and they are all good friends =')

"Hey, what do you think the big announcement is?"

"No clue. He seems excited about it, so it can't be  _ bad _ ."

"Doesn't look like he slept last night."

"I bet he didn't even go home."

"If he passes out at his desk again-"

"Where's that pillow and blanket we brought in for him before?"

"Still in a box, I think."

Darnold rolled his eyes at his coworkers, but smiled and peeked out of the storage closet to look over the group huddled together in the main room. "You know I can hear all of you, right?"

The scientists' chatter died down, and one cleared their throat awkwardly to say, "We're just worried about you, boss."

"I'm completely fine!" Sure, he didn't get much sleep, but he  _ did _ at least go home last night, thank you very much! It was just… Very Late when he left. "Unrelated, but we are runnin' low on energy potions."

He leaned back into the storage room and chuckled to himself at the collective, affectionately frustrated sigh of his mixology team. They'd understand his lack of sleep soon enough! Time for business.

Tommy.

The robot was currently turned off, leaning against the big crate, just like Darnold had found him before. The sight didn't give him a heart attack this time, though. He reached out and flipped the switch on Tommy's neck. The familiar whirring started up, and before long Tommy was staring back at him.

"Hi."

"Good morning, Tommy." Darnold held out a can of soda. "Here - breakfast, I guess."

Tommy blinked at the can for a moment before taking it, popping it open, slamming it back, and crushing the empty can against his head. Well  _ damn _ , Darnold would  _ kill _ to see this guy at a party. 

He shook his head to get his thoughts back together. "Are you all good? Everything running okay?"

Tommy smiled at him, eyes glowing brighter than before. "I'm not getting any error messages!" He stood up and stretched, and wow that recording had  _ not _ been kidding about Tommy being tall enough to reach the top shelves with no problem. He wiggled his fingers, tilted his head side to side, bounced on his feet a couple times. "I'm running smoother than, than a bar of soap going down a water slide :)"

Darnold covered his mouth as he tried - and failed - to hold back a laugh. Was Tommy programmed to say that? Or was it something he learned from someone on the cybernetics team? Either way, Darnold found it oddly charming.

A voice came in from the main lab. "Dr. Pepper? Are you alright in there?"

Oh. It  _ did _ sound like he was laughing alone in a closet, huh. Darnold called back, "I'm okay! I'll be out with the surprise in just a second!" And then he winked at Tommy and dropped to a whisper. "Are you ready to meet the rest of the team?"

"They won't tell anyone about me?"

Darnold shook his head. "I'll ask them to keep you a secret." He trusted his mixology department one hundred percent; they were like family to him. If he told them to keep Tommy a secret, he was absolutely confident they wouldn't utter a single word about him outside of the lab. "You're safe with them, I promise."

Tommy looked at him, and Darnold felt like the robot was staring into his soul. He shivered and held eye contact as the propeller on Tommy's hat started to spin. What had he said yesterday, it spun when he was requesting or downloading information? What information was he trying to get  _ now _ ? 

The hat stopped spinning and Tommy grinned at him. "Coworker reviews all rated you very high in trustworthiness! So I believe you. I'd love to meet the rest of the mixology department :)"

Trustworthiness? Darnold smiled to himself. His department was too nice to him.

He patted Tommy's back, immediately wincing at the  _ clang _ it made. Right. Metal. "Ooh, sorry about that. Don't know my own strength." He chuckled nervously and, when Tommy only smiled in response, he gently led the robot into the main room.

"Surprise!"

The crowd of scientists froze and looked back at the two of them.

"Okay, don't freak out," Darnold started, looking around at his team, "and don't tell anyone else about this. But the cybernetics department left behind a few things. He gestured to Tommy, who waved at the crowd. "This is Tommy, a friendly robot! He was supposed to be scrapped, but they kinda just left him hidden here. So, no talk about him leaves this room, okay? I don't know what would happen to him if he got found out, but I didn't want him to waste away silently in the closet."

A couple of ‘Ooh’s and ‘Ah’s were passed around until one scientist responded, "We won't tell a soul," and the rest of the group collectively nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, guys." Darnold patted Tommy's back again (not quite as hard this time) and grinned at him. "You wanna say anything? Introduce yourself?"

"Hi, I'm Tommy :)"

Some of the scientists waved at him, a few said hello back, and some just watched curiously.

"Or you can call me Dr. Coolatta!" 

That got a few chuckles from the team, including from Darnold. "Your last name is Coolatta?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, I- they let me pick it out myself."

"Well you picked a very good name."

One scientist piped up to say, "Of course  _ you _ like his name,  _ 'Dr. Pepper' _ ," and the rest laughed.

Darnold rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Tommy, pointing a jokingly accusing finger at the crowd. "You  _ wish _ you were as cool as us."

Tommy laughed along, too, at that, and Darnold smiled up at him. He'd fit in just fine here.

When the laughter died down, Darnold let go of Tommy to hold a hand out to him. "Welcome to the team, Dr. Coolatta."

Tommy happily accepted the handshake, getting cheers from the other scientists. "Happy to be here, Dr. Pepper."

"Now!" Darnold clapped his hands together, and everyone stood to attention. "Let's get the last of those boxes unpacked!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm gonna try 2 update this like once a week if i can so tube in next week for Silly Robot Antics =P
> 
> also! if anyone is curious, the chapter titles are in hex!  
> chapter 1 converts to "I'm Tommy. :)"  
> chapter 2 converts to "Surprise!"
> 
> thanks for reading <3


	3. 687562726973

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rocket boots!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: i am a computer scientist, not a rocket scientist, i don't know how actual rocket boots would ever work so if some of this makes 0 sense... oh well 😔

"Uh, Dr. Pepper?"

"Yeah?" Darnold looked up from the box he was unpacking and saw Tommy holding up a pair of boots. Darnold didn't remember boxing up any shoes from the old lab.

"I think these are- I think one of the leftover cybernetics boxes got mixed in with yours."

A few of the other scientists stopped what they were doing to watch, curiously. Darnold guessed that after the reveal of a whole entire robot person, any mention of the cybernetics department would grab their attention.

"They left  _ boots _ behind?" And even took the time to box them up?

Tommy grinned. "Oh, these aren't just regular boots."

"What, are these boots  _ also _ soda-powered?"

Tommy laughed and shook his head. "No, but they do use liquid rocket fuel."

The room went quiet as every single member of the mixology team stopped to stare at Tommy and the boots. Rocket fuel? For boots? No fuckin' way. Maybe Darnold should volunteer to test the cybernetics department's experiments if  _ rocket boots _ and  _ robots _ were things they could just  _ leave behind _ .

Darnold realized he had been standing there staring with his mouth agape, and cleared his throat. "Do they  _ work? _ "

"I think they're out of fuel, but you could- if you found some, they should still work."

Darnold grinned and turned to a line of barrels set against the wall. Oh, he could find rocket fuel. He'd requested some before to try in potions, and still had plenty left to fill up a pair of boots.

"What size are they, Dr. Coolatta?"

"Oh, they're adjustable."

… They were never going to finish unpacking.

* * *

"Everyone ready?"

The mixology team was spread out around the room - some on solid floor, some standing on desks, some perched on ladders, all with their arms in prime Catching positions. Tommy stood directly in front of Darnold, who was now rethinking his decision to try out a pair of  _ rocket boots _ … 

Oh god this was a mistake.

Tommy put his hands on Darnold's shoulders and smiled at him. "We're all ready to catch you if you fall. Plus my arms are- um, they can stretch out so I can grab you!"

Darnold took a shaky breath and nodded. Everything would be fine! The boots weren't going to explode and kill him… He could lower the propulsion before he hit the ceiling and Tommy could reach him if that failed. Everyone was standing close enough that he'd hit arms before hitting the floor if he couldn't maneuver well. All of the dangerous potions were moved into the storage closet. Darnold was even wearing a helmet and elbow pads! He would be okay. He'd be perfectly okay.

"You don't have to-"

"I'm gonna do it! Just- I gotta breathe for a second." Darnold picked at the material of his gloves and took a few more shaky breaths. Just think about how cool it'd be, not how terrifying.

"We believe in you, boss!"

"Yeah, after the amount of potion bottles I've dived to catch before they hit the ground, there's no way I'd let you fall!"

The team threw a few more encouraging words at him and Darnold laughed a little, standing more confidently. "Thanks, guys." He steeled himself and grinned at Tommy. "I'm ready."

Tommy grinned back. "Remember, stomp both heels down to start the boots up, and knock the heels together to turn them off."

Darnold looked down and stomped his feet-

Oh no he was wobbling. He instinctively reached forward and grabbed Tommy's arms as he was lifted off the ground, and Tommy held onto Darnold's arms in return to help steady him. The robot's weight kept him from going any higher, and Darnold adjusted his stance until he felt stable.

He carefully let go of Tommy, but instead of releasing him, Tommy slid his hands down to hold Darnold's and said, "Here, I can-"

Darnold felt a click, and the winding metal of Tommy's arms loosened. His arms stretched up, allowing the rocket boots to push Darnold up again, and he clutched Tommy's hands for dear life. But he had to admit, having contact with someone still on the ground  _ did _ ease his worries. A little.

The boots took Darnold all the way to the ceiling. He looked down at Tommy (Ha!  _ Now _ who's the tallest person in the room?) and let out an excited laugh. "I did it!"

There were various cheers from the mixology team, including Tommy, and Darnold felt on top of the world! He felt like he could do anything. He felt like... taking some risks.

He pointed the bottom of the boots behind him, to push himself forward. And then, in a moment of hubris, Darnold leaned forward and did a flip. The movement caused him to lose his hold on Tommy's hands, and the robot's arms sprung back to their original length. 

Shit. 

Darnold tried to straighten himself out when he was right side up again, but his helmet bumped the ceiling and he fell into another flip. This time, he didn't even make it all the way around. He got stuck upside down, and as his life flashed before his eyes he thought that at least he was gonna die looking cool as hell.

The rocket boots and gravity shook hands with each other and pulled Darnold toward the floor. Scratch that. Darnold headed for  _ Tommy _ , who seemed to be having trouble with his arm springs and wasn't paying attention.

"Dr.- Tommy, look out!"

Tommy looked up and his eyes started to glow brighter and… Darnold wasn't sure what happened after that. One second he was falling at a shocked robot, and the next he was looking at empty floor, and then the robot was back with- with a pillow? The pillow his department left for when Darnold fell asleep at the lab.

And then the two crashed to the floor, Darnold's face smooshing against the pillow between him and Tommy. He felt something wrap around him, and he pushed himself up with his hands to see Tommy underneath him, staring back.

"The buh- the boots! Knock the heels together!"

Darnold looked behind himself and the boots were still going. Tommy's weight was the only thing stopping him from blasting off again. He knocked the heels together and turned back to Tommy, relieved, when the boots shut down.

A crowd of worried scientists flocked to the two of them and helped Darnold back to his feet, fussing over him to make sure he was alright. They tried to help Tommy, too, but he was a little too heavy for them, so Darnold held a hand out to him. Tommy gently grabbed his hand, and he pulled the robot up.

“You okay, Dr. Coolatta?”

“My arms are kinda jammed… But I’m o-” Tommy paused when his internal fans got louder and his eyes started flashing red.

“Tommy? What’s going on?”

“I uh, I may have overloaded myself and used too much power. I should probably go into sleep mode for a while to let everything cool down.”

Overloaded? Was that how Tommy grabbed that pillow so fast? Speaking of - “Thanks for catching me. Sorry I gotcha all messed up.” He hadn’t even known the robot for 24 hours and he was already causing problems for him. Maybe he needed to look into sneaking Tommy out of Black Mesa before Darnold permanently blue-screened him or something.

Tommy waved the apology off, or  _ tried _ to wave it off when his hand got stuck and looked like he was going for a high five. “Maybe you should practice keeping steady more before doing tricks, but it- you looked really cool for like, a second.”

Darnold chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll save the tricks for later.”

Tommy gave him a big smile that turned into a grimace when his fans got even louder. “I’m gonna-” He pointed toward the closet.

Darnold nodded and followed him to the storage closet, the rest of the mixology department peeking into the room from behind him. Tommy settled into his spot at the big crate and waved at the group before his eyes dimmed and blinked shut. Darnold shewed the scientists back from the doorway and closed the door.

“Wow, boss, it only took you a day to break the new employee.”

“Oh, shh, he just needs some rest. I’ll stay late and see if I can fix his arms when he wakes up.”

“You’re staying late  _ again? _ ”

Darnold rolled his eyes and went back to pushing the crowd through the room. “Don’t we have some boxes left to unpack?” Darnold smirked when the scientists all groaned. Yes, he was staying late again. But… he’d get home and go to bed earlier this time. Probably.

He glanced back to the storage closet door. 

Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title: hubris
> 
> yes, the headcanon of tommy having time stop kinda powers is translated here into: he can use up more soda power to basically think and move faster than humanly possible =P but his processors struggle with it and overheat when he does it
> 
> vote now whether you wanna meet gordon, boomer, or benry next chapter ehehe it's gonna be tommy pov


	4. Blanket!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> helloooo boomers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tommy pov!

**_System cooldown complete. Running diagnostics._ **

**_0% - 3 days and 17 hours remaining._ **

**_50% - 2 minutes remaining._ **

**_52% - 4 hours remaining._ **

**_69% - nice._ **

**_99% - 2 seconds remaining._ **

**_Diagnostics complete. Error: left and right arm springs malfunctioning. Error: wrist joints jammed. Warning: low power. All software fully functional. Have a nice day :)_ **

Tommy opened his eyes and was met with a can of soda and a sticky note set in front of him. He glanced around the rest of the storage room, but the lights were off and the only sounds he could pick up were coming from himself. He was alone. (If you don't count the dismantled cyber-mutt in the crate behind him, of course.)

Maybe Dr. Pepper had left the soda and note for him? Tommy had probably taken longer than expected to cool down, and Darnold had gone home or something. There were no lights or sounds coming in from the main lab room, either.

Tommy reached for the note -

He reached for the note -

Ugh. He shook his arm, jostling his hand back and forth until it clicked. There. It didn't click into the right place, but it was at least at a proper sticky-note-grabbing angle. He grabbed the note and read it over.

"Dr. Coolatta," 

Tommy smiled. It was sweet that these scientists referred to him like a professional coworker. Back in cybernetics, they always just called him Tommy. Which he didn't have a problem with! That  _ was _ his name, and there was no reason for scientists who were basically his parents to be formal with him. But he could get used to being called Dr. Coolatta.

"I left a soda for you just in case I was away when you woke up. If I'm not in the lab, I'll be back in a few minutes tops to help with your arm if I can."

Back in a few minutes? But the laboratory lights were completely off…

"Hope you are feeling okay! -Darnold"

Tommy sipped at the soda Darnold had left for him, slowly in case his hand decided to unclick and fall off or something. He didn't wanna make a mess!

He stayed in the closet with his soda and waited to hear footsteps or see the lab lights flip on. But when he'd emptied the soda can and there was still no sign of Darnold, Tommy decided to open the door a little and peek out.

The room was dark and everything was put up nicely. They must have finished unpacking while he was sleeping. The rocket boots were even put up on a little shelf, with a big note saying "NO FLIPS!" taped to them. Tommy laughed at that, but stopped himself when he heard a noise in the room.

He looked toward the sound to find Darnold asleep at a desk. The pillow from before was under his head and a blanket over his shoulders. He must have fallen asleep before the rest of the department left. Good, he seemed to need the rest.

Tommy could probably fix his arms on his own if he was careful. He'd just need to keep quiet, and

"LOOK, BUBBY! WE MADE IT TO THE CYBERNETICS ROOM!"

Was… was that Dr. Coomer?

Darnold groaned and looked up from his desk, spotting Tommy and giving him a confused, half-asleep look. When the main door to the lab slammed open, Darnold jumped up from his seat, nearly toppling the chair and himself over. He looked around in a panic, before grabbing the blanket that had been over his shoulders and tossing it over Tommy.

The robot almost laughed, but he knew Darnold was just trying to keep him a secret. So he stood still underneath the blanket and listened as the lights came on.

"Ah, hello, Darnold."

Wait. They knew each other?

"Harold?" Darnold stammered for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same! I didn't know you worked in the cybernetics department."

"He doesn't," came Bubby's voice. "I thought you were head of the mixology department."

"I am! Cybernetics got moved to a different room, and we were kinda upgraded here."

"Oh dear. Looks like we'll have to do some more walking, Dr. Bubby."

Bubby grumbled and Tommy could vividly picture him crossing his arms with a pout. "I don't know why you even made me come with you, you're perfectly capable of getting around on your own."

"Dear, you told the other scientists that they would have to kill you to stop you from accompanying me."

"Wh- how did you hear that? You'd already left the room!"

Coomer chuckled. "My  _ arm _ is having trouble working, not my hearing aids. You weren't very quiet."

Tommy let out a short laugh before he could stop himself. Dr. Coomer and Bubby were always an entertaining pair. Things tended to get wild whenever Coomer would stop by the cybernetics department for repairs or check-ups.  _ Especially _ when he brought Dr. Bubby with him. (Which was most of the time.) Tommy wasn't sure how the room was still standing after all this time.

His reminiscing came to a halt when he heard footsteps approach. Had to be Bubby, based on the clacking heels. "What was that? What's under this blanket?"

"Nothing! Um, that's just- ...What blanket?"

"Blanket! A blanket is a piece of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold a great portion of the user's body. It is usually used when a person goes to sleep or is otherwise at rest. It traps radiant bodily heat that otherwise would be lost through convection, helping to keep the user warm. Many children and adults use a blanket as a comfort object-"

"Is there a  _ person _ under this? It doesn't even cover their feet." Tommy almost laughed again, but he was glad Darnold at least  _ tried _ to keep him a secret. "Dr. Pepper, did you bring a date into your lab and then try to hide them?"

A date?

**_Warning: sudden temperature increase. Activating additional cooling fans._ **

Oh no.

Luckily, Darnold spoke up and stopped anyone from noticing the whirring. "Um, no, that's- it- uh-"

Bubby snickered. "We won't tell, right, Harold?"

"Snitches get stitches!"

"Right, so c'mon, introduce us."

The blanket was pulled off of Tommy, and Bubby dropped it to the floor in surprise when he locked eyes with the robot. "Tommy?!"

"Tommy!" Coomer stepped over to give Tommy a pat on the back. A little rough but at least he didn't dent Tommy's back this time.  _ That _ had been an interesting day in the cybernetics lab. "I didn't know you were Darnold's secret date!"

"Please don't tell anyone!" Darnold interrupted their little reunion with a panicked voice. "I mean, he's not my secret date but don't tell anyone about him-"

"Oh,  _ sure _ ." Bubby smirked, obviously not believing him. "And Harold here isn't  _ my _ secret date,  _ either _ ."

"Bubby, our coworkers threw us a party for our 10th anniversary this year. I don't think we could be considered 'secret.'"

"Well, good. That means I can do this-" Bubby kissed Coomer's cheek, making him laugh, "-whenever I want."

Tommy and Darnold glanced at each other, and Tommy rolled his eyes, pointing at the boomers and sticking out his tongue like he was disgusted. Darnold put a hand over his mouth and giggled.

"Hey!" Bubby waved a hand between the two of them. "Stop being homophobic! Point us toward the new cybernetics room and we'll leave you two love birds alone."

If they were going to the lab for repairs, maybe… "Um! We- actually, if you go to the cybernetics lab, I need- could you bring something back for me?"

* * *

Darnold hopped onto a desk and kicked his feet back and forth after Dr. Coomer and Dr. Bubby left. "So you and Harold have the same springy arms?"

Tommy nodded. "Extendo arms. He got them around the same time I was built, so we practiced using them together a lot." Tommy's favorite extendo experiment was when the scientists had him and Dr. Coomer stand at opposite ends of a hallway and high five. They both missed the first time, and Coomer's hand went through a window.

"Makes sense you'd know each other. I knew Harold had some cybernetic limbs and enhancements, but I didn't think about you meeting that way."

Tommy was curious, too. "What about you? How do  _ you _ know him and Dr. Bubby?"

"Ah, I… met them at a boxing match." Darnold chuckled. "Harold was very friendly, found out it was my first time watchin' a match. It was Bubby's first time, too. Gave me the entire history of boxing. Challenged me to our own boxing match, which I politely declined… Now whenever we pass in the halls he asks if I'm ready for our match, yet."

Tommy laughed. "Better keep- uh, better stay on your toes. I heard he keeps his boxing gloves with him 24/7."

"If he asks for a match when he gets back, maybe I'll say yes. You think I could beat him?"

"Hmm…" Tommy looked him over like he was thinking about it. "My scans indicate that you have a 1% chance of winning. :)"

Darnold snorted and pushed him playfully. "Aww, not even like… 20 percent? I have strong arms!" 

"Yeah, but Dr. Coomer has more weight  _ and _ experience."

"…15 percent?"

"Let me check." Tommy tried to look serious, but couldn't help the little smile on his face while he pretended to scan Darnold again. "Oh! My last scan must've been- must have had an error! You now have a 15% chance of winning!"

Darnold grinned. "I like those odds. You gonna cheer for me?"

  
"Oh, of  _ course _ ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think that if he practiced some, darnold could win. saw a post saying darnold was able to lift that Brown Flavor barrel with NO problem so he must be buff as hell under that lab coat and i think about it every day.
> 
> bonus note that isnt relevant: one of the boxers in the match that darnold and the boomers met at was coomers ex wife ehehe


	5. 676f6f676c792065796573

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> helloooo boomers (cont.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi it has been a while bc work is emotionally destroying me but i am not giving up on writing this fic YET

Darnold sat next to Coomer and watched as he fixed Tommy's right arm. The issue, the two of them explained, was that the spring on his arm had gotten hooked on itself and tangled up, meaning Tommy couldn't get his arms fully back in place. This apparently happened often enough that Tommy and Coomer could both fix it themselves, but with Tommy's wrists also jammed, he needed a little help. 

So Coomer showed Darnold how to unravel Tommy's arms and set the springs back up correctly. "Now, you try the other arm."

Darnold looked up at Tommy's face and opened his mouth to ask if he was okay with that, but Tommy smiled at him and held out his arm before Darnold could even get the words out. He glanced back to Coomer, who nodded reassuringly.

Alright, he could do this. No more damaging his robot friend. It was Fixin' Time now.

He pushed up the sleeve of Tommy's lab coat and found the tangle, hooking his finger into the spring and unraveling it like Coomer had done. (He hoped.)

He checked Tommy's face again to find the robot staring at him. Tommy blinked and quickly looked away, and Darnold could hear his internal fans picking up. He smiled to himself, his own cheeks getting warm, and focused on Tommy's arm again. Just a little more… There! He got the tangle out.

Dr. Coomer patted him on the shoulder, jostling him a little. "Good job! Now push the springs back in place until you hear a click."

Darnold nodded and pushed the springs together toward Tommy's shoulder until they clicked. 

Coomer bent and stretched Tommy's arm to make sure it moved correctly, and then smiled at Darnold. "Excellent work, Dr. Pepper!"

"Yes, excellent work making googly eyes for a whole minute."

"Now, Bubby, remember what you said earlier? Don't be homophobic." Coomer grinned.

Bubby looked among the three of them for a moment before taking a deep breath. "AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Darnold winced at the sudden volume and gave Bubby a confused look. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm homophobic, scared of gay people, and I just looked around and saw three of them. Nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Coomer clasped his hands together and looked at the floor, sadly. "It's true. Every morning he sees himself in the mirror and screams until I lie to him that he's not gay."

Bubby pretended to be shocked. "It was a lie?!"

"Don't worry, dear, I'm sure you'll get over your fear with the amount of exposure therapy you get." Coomer gave Bubby a kiss on the cheek, and Bubby melted a little before remembering his act and stepping away with a shout.

Tommy broke out into a laugh, and Darnold couldn't help but laugh along with him. He hoped that Harold and Bubby would stop by again after this. Tommy seemed to like them a lot, and they were the only scientists Darnold had really talked to outside of his own department.

…Wow, he needed to get out of the lab more. But! He'd worry about getting  _ Tommy _ out of the lab first.

When their laughter died down, Darnold decided to risk the question. The two older men were friends, and they already knew about Tommy, so it couldn't hurt to ask, "Um, Harold, Bubby, you two wouldn't know anything about… sneaking someone out of Black Mesa, would you?"

They turned to look at each other, both smirking, and Bubby answered, "Oh, we definitely know a thing or two about sneaking out."

Coomer nodded. "Bubby here technically isn't allowed to leave the building or else he'll explode!"

Explode?! Would that happen to Tommy? The thought made Darnold feel sick. "Isn't that super dangerous? How do you sneak out like that?"

"They have sensors at every exit door that can detect me from my stupid bionic heart,  _ unless _ ," Bubby clasped his hands together and grinned, "there's an emergency in the building that causes an evacuation."

Darnold raised an eyebrow. "What, do you set fires in the building just to get out for a few hours?" he joked. But Bubby and Coomer nodded back, and his jokey smile turned into shock. "You set fires to get out for a few hours?!"

The two nodded, and Coomer said, "As long as we're back in time to check in after the fire's cleared, they never notice we're gone!"

" _ Is that why we have so many fire evacuations _ ?!"

"Hey, only  _ Some _ of those were us."

"Most."

Bubby nodded. "Only  _ most _ of those were us."

Darnold stammered in surprise and turned to see if Tommy shared his baffled expression, but the robot was simply smiling at the story, his hat spinning slowly. That meant he was searching something, right?

"Tom- Dr. Coolatta? What are you thinkin' about?"

"You can call me Tommy if you want :)"

Darnold smiled. "Well, what are you thinkin' about,  _ Tommy _ ?"

"I'm not sure if the sensors would pick me up - I've never tried to leave the building before - but it's- it doesn't hurt to be safe! And there's a smaller chance of me- of people noticing me if they're running around like ants escaping an anthill."

"And you won't need to check back in, since they don't know you're here in the first place."

Tommy nodded. "The only issue is the security cameras. If someone checks the footage and sees me, it still might not be safe."

Bubby and Coomer looked at each other. "We might know someone who can help with that."

* * *

Darnold's head was pounding when he woke up. He squinted an eye open, the lights way too bright, and looked around. His mixology team were quietly going about their daily work, obviously staying hushed so they wouldn't wake him up.

One scientist was heating a beaker. A small group was gathered at another table, slowly adding drops to a bubbling substance. A few scientists were standing around the shelves while one pointed up at a bottle and another tall one reached up to grab it. Darnold noticed the propeller cap on that scientist's head and smiled.

He stood up from his desk, the sound of the chair scraping along the floor alerting the room that he was awake now. He smiled and waved at the chorus of "Hello"s and "Good morning"s everyone sent his way. 

"Startin' the day without me, huh?"

"Just because you needed the sleep, boss!"

"Yeah, Dr. Coolatta here said you stayed up half the night -  _ again _ \- to help fix his arms and make some kinda escape plan."

Darnold looked back to Tommy. "You tattled on me to my scientists?"

Tommy laughed and put his hands on his hips. (So his arms were working fine now. That's good.) "We just uh- we all thought you should get some rest!"

Some rest. There's a nice robot hiding out in his lab in danger of being taken apart and Darnold should Get Some Rest. Psh. Darnold crossed his arms. "Oh? What about you? Have you been up all night? Don't you need rest, too?"

"I'm not human, Dr. Pepper," Tommy  _ winked _ at him, and Darnold thought that his own internal fans would be going right now if he was a robot like Tommy. "As long as I'm not being overloaded, soda is all I need to- uhh to keep me going for several days! :)"

"They've been keepin' you soda'd up while I was asleep?" Darnold looked around the room at the rest of the mixology team, who had all stopped working to watch their conversation.

One scientist said, "Yeah, we've been keeping up with the sodas. Tommy's in good hands, right?" The rest of them nodded and mumbled their agreement.

Tommy held out an arm and pointed to his wrist, a colorful beaded bracelet hanging from it. "They even gave me a friendship bracelet!"

Darnold laughed. He was glad his team was trying to make Tommy feel at home. And soon he would be able to sneak out of here and have a  _ real _ home. They just needed to talk to Bubby and Coomer's friend to figure out their options. Someone working as a security guard. What did they say his name was? Bipple? Barney?

Benrey?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh <33 thanks 4 reading u r epic


End file.
